Hide and Seek
by downtonaddicted
Summary: Another take on the scene where Claire goes to Owen's bungalow. My first fanfic. I love the Claire/Owen relationship so decided to do a one-shot. Please give me feedback! Thanks!


She hated the fact that she had to do this, that she was the one who had to go and fetch the man that she hadn't made eye contact with since the failure of their first date.

Owen made Claire feel something that she had no control over, and she hated it, every second of it, but she would be lying to herself if she didn't say she also loved it. After catching each other's eyes on multiple occasions since their first meeting, Claire's anticipation about him taking her to dinner was working her brain on overdrive. She panicked and acted as though she didn't know how to have fun. That's where the night began to go wrong. She wanted to make the effort, and when she thought that Owen had made none (with those board shorts), she started to give up hope.

Owen was no different. Ever since he first caught a glimpse of her blue eyes and red hair, he knew he saw something he liked, but he knew that he also saw a challenge. She was not one to give in easily, and their months of flirting had led up to the first date – and it had gone so terribly wrong. He still felt something was there though, even though they hadn't spoken in months.

As Claire drove through the dense wood to reach Owen's bungalow, her heart started to race. 'Snap out of it' she thought to herself as she arrived at her destination. To her surprise, he was no-where to be seen. As the drive there was quite a distance, she decided that she had to double check before she left, that he wasn't hiding around somewhere. 'He's got to be here somewhere, surely… it's nearly 7pm…' she thought. Claire quickly checked her hair over in the mirror and dabbed a little more lipstick on before exiting the vehicle. 'Hello… Mr Grady?' she shouted, to no avail. 'Dammit, where is that idiot', she said out-loud, as she nosily turned the front door knob, entering the bungalow. 'Typical… unlocked…. How safe' she mentally scolded. Owen's apartment looked different than she'd have imagined, tidier with lot of random items scattered across the big table in the middle of the room and across the floor. Photos of his beloved raptors sat on the window still alongside some people who Claire presumed were family members. 'Hello, anybody home?' she shouted again, just to make sure he wouldn't catch her rummaging through his stuff 'that would be awkward…' she thought to herself as she started to wander further towards the back of the bungalow, where she found a big brown wooden door. Reaching out to push it open, Claire immediately realised that she had found Owen's bedroom. Pushing the door wider open, she took a step inside and gazed around the room. She felt a tingle in the depth of her stomach. 'If only our first date had gone a little better…' she said out-loud… pacing slowly around the room, taking in as much detail of it as she could. His sweatshirt had been discarded onto the side of the bed which she picked up and smelt. It was like she had just been shot with pure pleasure through her heart and body. Everything smelt of him, it was like he was there with her, and he was, watching her from the shadows, only a few feet away.

Unknown to Claire, Owen had been taking a shower, and seen as it was quite far away from outside the front door, he hadn't initially heard her shout to see if he was in. It was only when he heard the front door close that he jumped out and wrapped a towel around his waist. As soon as he heard her voice, he froze. He didn't know what to do. He was half-naked and the last time he saw Claire was not a good experience. 'What was she doing here? And WHY is she in my bungalow?' he asked himself as he hid behind the bathroom door, adjacent to his bedroom. Out of the small crack in the side of the door, he saw the redhead slowly wander into his room, her eyes were everywhere when he heard her say ''If only our first date had gone a little better…'. 'What the hell does that mean?! He thought to himself'. He stood there confused, trying to work out the scene which had just unfolded in-front of his eyes. Looking back into the room, Claire was still pondering around when a loud halt of breaks outside of Owen's bungalow made them both jump. It amused Owen to see Claire in such a blind panic. 'Omg, no… oh shit!' he heard her whisper to herself as she quickly darted into Owen's wardrobe to the left of the room. Owen decided that he could have so much fun with this situation. 'She thinks I've just arrived, but it's someone else and I know she's hiding in the closet' he mentally thought to himself as he slid out the back door.

'Mr. Grady! How are you this fine evening? Sorry if I interrupted your shower' said Mr. Masrani. 'Good thanks you? And no problem!' Owen replied back. 'Yes good' said Masrani. 'Have you by any chance seen a woman called Claire Dearing today? I sent her over here earlier to get you to come back to evaluate the new asset's enclosure, but she hasn't responded to my calls or returned…' Owen's ears instantly pricked up at the mention of her name. Lying perfectly he commented 'Nah, haven't seen her around for a while'. Masrani, noticing Claire's car hiding under a nearby tree, sensed that someone was not telling him something, but knew when to not interrupt. 'Ah never-mind, it's getting quite late, so we better leave it for tonight – I'll fill you in tomorrow' added Masrani. 'Ok cheers' said Owen as he watched Mr Masrani drive off into the distance.

Claire had seen the whole conversation and concluded that there was really no-way out of the bungalow without being seen or heard. She was also freaking out because she realised that Owen must have been somewhere near-by to have heard Masrani arrive, whilst she was inside his bungalow… 'I'm so stupid' she thought, for getting herself into this mess… 'But how hadn't he of heard me arrive if he heard Masrani?' she thought, confused as hell. She kept thinking 'its okay, he doesn't know I'm here, but WAIT, he would have seen my car!' At that moment, she knew she had blown any chance of recovering with some dignity from the situation she had got herself in, but she didn't know what to do next, her mind was playing games and she didn't enjoy losing control.

As Owen gazed at the house, he had no idea how to approach this situation. If Claire had heard any of his and Masrani's conversation, she would know that Owen knew she should be here and her car was a bit of a giveaway seen as it was bright white. He took a step onto his porch and in through the front door. It was silent. Claire heard him come in and her heart began to race. 'Oh no' she said to herself as he got closer to her hiding position. 'Claire, don't play games with me, I know you're in here' she heard Owen call out from the corridor outside the bedroom. 'Are you going to come out or are we going to have to play hide and seek?' he added as he started checking each inch of each room, before he stood in the doorframe of his bedroom, where he knew she was hiding. He didn't look at his closet directly, as he knew that she would probably be able to see him, but he pretended to search for her and then leave. He was playing games with her. He decided to see how long she would be able to stay in the closet, and Owen was enjoying every moment of messing with her mind. 'We'll just have to see if you emerge anytime soon then, if that's how it is…' Owen shouted from the front room as he opened a beer and sat down to watch the TV.

'What is he playing at?' Claire thought to herself as she saw him sit down in the front room. By now, Claire had been standing trapped amongst the rails of clothes in Owen's closet for at least half an hour and she was beginning to get fed up, but she would not let him win, not this time. After she was sure that he was completely engrossed in the TV, Claire slowly opened the wardrobe door and silently stepped a small step down into Owen's bedroom, trying to be as silent as possible. Tip-toeing out of the room, her elbow suddenly hit a glass on the side of the hallway, causing it to fall to the floor with a loud smash. She knew. She knew in that very moment, that she will never live this down… and that's when she saw him.

'HA! I knew it! I knew you were in here and I've caught you red-handed!' Owen said as he raced out of the other room to Claire, with a wide smirk grew on his face. 'Well yes, I guess you caught me' she said trying to hide her face with the shame and embarrassment that was written all over it. 'But why are you half naked?!' She shouted?

'I was taking a shower! And…I knew you fancied me Claire, but breaking into my apartment to have a sniff of my sweatshirt is a bit stalker-ish, don't you think?' He was playing with her now, and trying to push her buttons, as he knew she loved it. Claire gasped at his revelation that he had been watching her the entire time and stood there speechless.

They stood there for what like a lifetime, trying to make sense of each other. 'I'm sorry Mr. Grady, I shouldn't of come here' said Claire in a gloomy voice as she bolted for the front door, but something stopped her. Owen's hand had grabbed her right arm and tugged her back to where she was previously standing. She looked confused and weaker than he'd ever seen her before. 'It's Owen, he smirked and whilst I've got you here, why don't we find out what would have happened If only our first date had gone a little better?'

Her eyes widened as she recognised the sentence that she had said earlier whilst thinking to herself in Owen's room. She was blushing now and tried with all her might to not look into Owen's eyes, as that would be the end to her stubbornness. He saw her cheeks go a rosy shade of pink and knew that he had got her on that one. 'Well?' he said optimistically, as he lifted her chin up so that their eyes could meet. Her eyes told him that she wanted this too, but he didn't want her to run away again. He knew that he had to take this slowly if she was going to comply; this was Claire Dearing after all.

She saw him look from her eyes down to her lips and back up to her eyes again. Her stomach was filled with butterflies and she hardly recognised this person she had become under his touch. His head was slowly coming towards hers and their lips finally met, timidly at first, but gaining in strength. His hands of which one had been carefully placed on her waist and the other cupping her delicate face, shifted south to her hips, as Claire's hands reached out to pull Owen closer to her – deepening the kiss. She had no idea what she was doing, all she knew was that she was enjoying this too much for her own good. He spun them around so that her back was pushed against his front door, as he prised it open. They broke apart and stared at each other like they had never done before. She could see the lust in his eyes, and he could see a different woman than he is used to seeing running the park. He held his hand out, and she reached for it cautiously. He walked backwards, towards the bedroom, keeping his eyes on her eyes – neither one of them saying anything that could ruin the moment. When they were in his bedroom, he took her lips in his again and embraced her more passionately than before. He was pleasantly surprised when she responded with such force that it knocked him to fall backwards on the bed behind him. She climbed on top of him and started kissing his neck when he rolled them over so that she was fully underneath him. 'Let me take control for once' he whispered, looking deeply in her eyes.

He pushed his body up to take the site of her in. She was still fully clothed but she never looked more beautiful laid out across his bed like she was in that moment. He explored and touched her body until he found the zip to her dress and un-zipped it until he could take it off her. She wore lacy nude underwear beneath her white dress, which turned Owen on even more.

Claire couldn't believe what was happening to her and how this evening was progressing. Her dress made her feel confident, but now, she was lying underneath him in just her underwear and him just in his towel. She was usually the confident one, the dominant one, but under his touch, she was putty in his hands. In all the time she had caught glances of him across a meeting room or in the park, Claire had never noticed how toned he was and she felt no shame in touching him now that she had nothing else to loose in this situation, she may as well go all out and leave any inhibitions she had behind.

He noticed that she was touching his biceps and abs and he loved the feeling of her touch. He continued to explore her body and at the same time reached behind her back to release her from her bra. The first touch of skin on skin contact sent them both into a deep moan. He could see it in her eyes that she wanted this, however much she protested. He started kissing his was down her neck and leaving a trail down to her belly button. It was when he started to progress further that a hand suddenly stopped him. She was afraid. She had let go of so much of her tough exterior that what he was about to do to her would make her lose all control, and she wasn't ready for that. Owen noticed the sudden hostility of her body and brought his eyes back up to meet hers. 'Do you trust me Claire?' he asked her tentatively, 'yes' she whispered, but he could still see worry in her eyes. 'I'm not going to hurt you okay? Trust me and just let go' he said into her ear. She had never heard him speak in that tone before and it stunned her. 'Okay' she replied, not sure how she would cope with losing total control over her body.

His lips again traced the same pattern along her neck, down to her belly button and this time, they went further. His hands roamed down under her underwear and started touching her in her most intimate spot. She groaned at the feel of his touch, he was already sending her out of control. Claire felt Owen remove her underwear and continue kissing downwards until he found her clit. He hooked his muscly arms around her hips to the bed, bracing her for the pleasure she was about to receive.

Claire didn't think she had experienced this much pleasure in all of her life. She would normally feel mortified about having a man doing these kinds of things to her between her legs, but she trusted Owen and she didn't want him to stop. He inserted his index finger and curled it up to meet her g-spot, whilst licking her over and over until a load 'Owen, Ow- Ow- I'm going to- I'm going to- ahhhhh' came out of her mouth as her body rode out the waves of pleasure he had given her. He shifted back up to start kissing her heatedly again, as she tugged on his towel to remove it. They were now completely naked on top of each other. 'Did you like losing control Miss Dearing?' he said with a smirk on his face, 'It's Claire' she smirked back, 'and I could get used to THAT I'm sure' she replied in a tone he had never heard her speak in before. 'Condom' she whispered into his left ear, 'first draw in bedside table' he replied hastily. She took the wrapper and opened it with her teeth, before putting the condom in her mouth and rolling Owen over so that she was now on top of him. He stared, confused at what she was doing, but it all made sense when her lips found his manhood and she perfectly placed the condom on him with her mouth. 'How did you ever learn to do that?' he said stunned at what had just happened, 'there's a lot of things you don't know about me Mr. Grady' she said, rolling him back on-top of her again. He was ready for her now and so was she for him. As his tip touched her entrance and he fully pushed into her, she let out a huge groan of pleasure that turned Owen on than anything before. It did not take long for them to find their rhythm or their climaxes. After they both came, Owen laid gently on-top of her for a second, stroking her and trying to recover from what had just happened. He then rolled off and they fell soundly asleep, entwined in each other's bodies and minds.

It was Claire who awoke first to find Owen's arms still wrapped tightly around her. She had no idea what to do or what to even say to him. They hadn't really exchanged many words before last night and she started to get anxious. The old Claire was slowly creeping back. Determined to let Owen sleep, she grabbed one of Owen's shirts from his wardrobe and his dressing gown and stepped outside. The view from his bungalow across the lake was beautiful, especially at this time in the early morning. She stood there, gazing out across the water until she felt two hands snaking around her waist. 'Good morning beautiful' he whispered in her ear, 'I like the view you got here, it's very nice' she said randomly, trying to make normal conversation. 'I could say the same thing' he responded with a smile as she knew exactly the connotations that went along with his comment. 'I meant about the lake…' she said coldly, 'yeah so did I', he playfully responded – he knew he was getting good with messing with her, and it gave him a challenge. 'We better get ready to meet Mr Masrani' she said walking past Owen without any feelings. Just before she entered into the bungalow, Owen commented 'How can you do that? How can you go from fun Claire to cold Claire after the night we spent together?' She could see in his eyes that there was so much hurt, but she knew she had to remain strong and he would make her weak, 'I just can' she replied hastily.

He remained outside to gaze out across the water, until his sub-conscious mind told him to not take that as a viable answer to his question. When he got back into his apartment, he could hear her in the shower, and he knew that if he was going to get an honest answer, he would have to catch her when she least expected it.

Claire loved the way the water felt against her skin. As she washed away any remaining evidence of the night her and Owen spent together, she heard the bathroom door shut abruptly. Poking her head out of the shower curtain, she found Owen standing there. 'Get out! What are you doing? What on Earth' she said as he pushed his way into the shower with her. There was no escaping him now. She was completely turned on but at the same time, he was going to make her confess to feelings that she didn't want to share, she was completely sure of it. 'You need to tell me the proper answer to my question, and there's nowhere for you to run now Miss Dearing' he said lustfully at her. She tried with all of her willpower to contain the smile that was rounding her lips, 'I'm- I'm- just scared I suppose'. Looking confused Owen asked 'Why, what of?' to which she responded 'I'm scared of giving my all to you and losing all control, and then getting broken again'. It was clear to Owen that Claire had been hurt in previous relationships and that he had to prove to her that he was not like the previous men that she had been with. 'I'm not like them' he said, 'I like you' he confessed as their lips joined together. Trying to process this information, Claire started to blush as she knew she felt the same for him. 'I like you too' she softly said, as the water continued to crash down on their bodies as their kissing intensified.

After taking their shower, Claire realised that she didn't have enough time to go back to her apartment to get clean clothes, and that she would have to wear the clothes she had worn the previous day. 'I hope people don't notice' she said out loud as she gestured towards her dress to Owen. 'Well I hope they do' he said, winking back to her as they walked to the car and drove to where the new dinosaur was being held.

'Ah, Claire there you are! And Owen! Nice to see you both' said Mr Masrani as he started to show them the new asset, secretly noticing that Claire was wearing the same outfit as yesterday.


End file.
